Chapter 3: Matters of Men, Leave Them to Me

Night Nine-Demon gazed at the descending immortal, as ethereal as a goddess from the Ninth Heaven, yet his eyes remained utterly calm. Instead, he immediately broke into a childlike grin and said, “Xuan Niang, I just knew that all beautiful women have kind hearts, just like… just like Qingyu.”

A tinkling laugh escaped her lips. “So Nine-Demon has learned to flatter people now? This must be Qingyu’s influence. Otherwise, you begging us for help—now that would be as rare as the sun rising in the west.”

Night Nine-Demon blushed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head with his right hand. Xuan Niang, seeing his reaction, instantly realized she’d guessed right.

“Tell me, what’s troubling you? I’ll teach you cultivation, but it can’t be like before—running off the moment you get a beating,” Xuan Niang teased with a mischievous smile that could turn the world on its head. Yet Night Nine-Demon stood unmoved, only nodding earnestly.

She laughed again. “I quite like little men like you.”

Embarrassed, Night Nine-Demon followed Xuan Niang, who led him to a strange place filled with an eerie chill.

“Today, I’ll start by teaching you how to absorb spiritual energy. Although you’ve already reached the early stage of the Qi Fusion Realm, that was all thanks to the Canglang Diagram continuously drawing in the purest essence of heaven and earth and nourishing you with it. That doesn’t count as your own true cultivation.”

“Now I’ll show you how to absorb and control qi yourself. Then you’ll be able to use the techniques your other fathers, mothers, uncles, brothers, sisters, and the rest have taught you, as well as anything else you’ve learned.”

After thirteen years in the Canglang Diagram, Night Nine-Demon had forged deep bonds with its inhabitants. In time, he adopted many as sworn parents, and even became sworn brothers and sisters with others, all for one purpose—to avoid beatings.

“Xuan Niang, please teach me,” Night Nine-Demon said seriously.

“Very well. Listen and follow my instructions…”

Suddenly, Xuan Niang shed her celestial demeanor and assumed the strict air of a stern teacher, sitting cross-legged in the void and speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear.

Night Nine-Demon followed every instruction to the letter. With his exceptional talent, it took him mere moments to learn the methods for absorbing and controlling spiritual energy.

“My techniques aren’t suited for you. Come back tomorrow and ask your other parents for something more fitting,” Xuan Niang said, her eyes flashing with a knowing look. Night Nine-Demon nodded vigorously, his face breaking into a sly grin.

“Since you’re here, you might as well take a beating.”

Without warning, Xuan Niang hurled Night Nine-Demon into the depths of that sinister domain. Suddenly, beams of green light flared in the gloom, and Night Nine-Demon’s face went instantly pale.

“Xuan Niang… you’re ruthless…”

Before he could finish, a barrage of thunderous sounds drowned him out. Seeing those pairs of sinister green eyes, Night Nine-Demon suddenly remembered where he was—this was the place from his childhood nightmares.

Within dwelled nine creatures of unknown origin, each wielding a different power. He recalled being three years old the first time he entered and suffering torment too dreadful to recall.

When he awoke, he was already back in the outside world, but he could clearly sense a new mark on his forehead. Looking in a bronze mirror, he saw a yin-yang fish tattoo etched between his brows, though it quickly faded from sight.

Night Nine-Demon exited the Canglang Diagram and awoke three days later. The table before him was piled high with meats, every dish infused with spiritual energy—clearly the flesh of spirit beasts.

Beneath one of the plates was a piece of paper, pressed flat, upon which a delicate hand had written a single line in elegant script.

“When you wake, remember to eat. Don’t go hungry.”

Night Nine-Demon instantly knew who had left it and cast aside all restraint—he was truly starving, not just in body but in soul.

In no time, the table was swept clean of food.

“Someone! I’m thirsty…”

A maidservant hurried in, bringing a pot of tea. She set it down and left, muttering to herself as she went.

“Useless. Why does the Empress favor such a worthless man? If he fails to secure the essence crystal mine today, will Great Zhou even survive…”

Though she spoke under her breath, Night Nine-Demon’s senses were extraordinary—keen as a thousand-watt lamp piercing the darkness. His hearing was no exception.

Upon hearing this, a gust of wind swept around him, and before he’d even touched the tea, he vanished from the room in a streak of light.

…

“Huang Junyi? You think you can compete with me for this? Call your father, Huang Wuji, or today the essence crystal mine will belong to Great Zhou!” By now, Luo Qingyu had fully embraced her role as Empress. Her regal bearing shone in all directions, her face betraying no emotion, only a commanding authority.

“Heh… So you really believe yourself Empress? With your cultivation stuck at the Qi Fusion Realm, you’ll always be nothing but a petty official—and so will all of Great Zhou!”

“I, Huang Junyi, am your age, yet I’ve reached the mid-stage of Qi Cultivation. As for you… heh, you’ve only just stepped into the realm!”

“What can you rely on to protect Great Zhou? Those few useless elders, old and decrepit? Or your so-called national destiny?”

Huang Junyi’s words were sharp as blades, each syllable a barb. Despite all that Luo Qingyu had faced these past two weeks, she could not help but pale under such relentless pressure.

Though a few veteran ministers stood behind Luo Qingyu, Huang Junyi was supported by several terrifyingly powerful cultivators. For a moment, none from Great Zhou dared speak up.

“Qingyu, fighting is men’s business. Step aside and let me handle it!”

Night Nine-Demon’s voice rang out, a lifeline to the drowning. Suddenly, a figure materialized in the midst of the crowd.

The youth’s features were handsome as jade, his white robe whiter than snow. His expression held a hint of arrogance, but his eyes brimmed with tender affection as they fell upon Luo Qingyu. He walked over, took her hand, and gently guided her behind him.

“Huang Junyi, is it? Enough talk. Real men prove themselves with strength, not with empty words. Or has your manhood already been cut away?” Night Nine-Demon’s wicked grin fixed on Huang Junyi’s lower half, causing the latter to clamp his legs together as a cold wind swept by.

“Hahaha…” Night Nine-Demon burst out laughing. Even Luo Qingyu, hidden behind him, couldn’t help but smile. The people of Great Zhou laughed all the more, while the Eastern Hua clan’s faces darkened.

“Empty boasts! The contest for the essence crystal mine shall follow the usual rules of the Central Heaven Realm—best of three. The winner claims the mine!” An imperial scion of the Eastern Emperor clan stepped forward, his gaze murderous.

“No—” began a Great Zhou elder.

“We accept your terms.” Night Nine-Demon cut him off, infuriating the elder, who pointed at him and scolded, “Ignorant boy! Do you understand nothing? This is a contest of the young, not the elders!”

In terms of pure strength, the Great Zhou contingent present was slightly superior to the Eastern Emperor clan. But the contest for the essence crystal mine was never decided by the elders—it was always the younger generation who fought for it.

The essence crystal mine existed to extract spiritual energy for the cultivation of future generations. Thus, the realm lord of the Central Heaven Realm had set rules accordingly.

The Newborn World consisted of five realms, each with its own lord. If one likened the five realms to administrative districts, the realm lords were akin to high officials. The ruler of the entire Newborn World was, naturally, the supreme sovereign—a saint, unmatched and unchallenged.

“Oh,” Night Nine-Demon replied breezily, his gaze once more locking onto Huang Junyi, battle intent flashing in his eyes.

“You—a mere son-in-law—what right have you to decide the fate of Great Zhou?!”

“Silence!” Luo Qingyu’s face blazed with anger as she snapped at the elder, and the room fell deathly quiet.

Night Nine-Demon’s marriage into the family was already public knowledge—especially after Night Hanzhou’s surprising approval and his official proclamation throughout Great Zhou. What the people had thought a mere rumor was now fact: Night Nine-Demon had truly married into the Luo family.

“Your Majesty…”

“He represents me,” Luo Qingyu declared simply, ceding authority to Night Nine-Demon. The elders were silenced. Luo Qingyu’s cultivation might not be the highest, but she had inherited a loyal cadre left by Luo Zhouwu—men who now stood with her and thus with Night Nine-Demon.

“Then let us fight,” said the Eastern Emperor clan’s champion coldly.

Instantly, the crowd parted to form a circle.

“Night Nine-Demon, son-in-law of Great Zhou, ready for your challenge!” Night Nine-Demon emphasized the words “son-in-law,” his tone light and unashamed, even a touch exhilarated.

Hearing this, Luo Qingyu blossomed into a radiant smile, her eyes filled with emotion as she gazed at him, unable to look away.

“Eastern Emperor clan, Huang Qianxi. Prepare yourself.” A figure strode forward from the imperial ranks, exuding immense pressure. His cultivation at the Profound Phase of Body Opening burst forth as he threw a sudden punch at Night Nine-Demon.

“Noisy!”

Night Nine-Demon’s right hand became a claw. Though no visible spiritual energy flowed, his presence was now elusive and unfathomable—like a primordial beast stalking its prey.

Of all present, Luo Qingyu knew Night Nine-Demon best. Childhood companions, she was aware that, despite his love of sleep and food, he harbored within him a terrifying reservoir of spiritual energy. This was why she trusted him to fight.

In a flash, fist and claw collided. Huang Qianxi thought to shatter the claw with his fist, but he had sorely underestimated the years Night Nine-Demon had spent enduring beatings.

His cultivation and physique had reached an extreme. Unmatched in strength and power, his claw strike seemed to shake the very heavens and shatter the void.

A crisp crack sounded. In that fleeting instant, before anyone could react, Night Nine-Demon channeled force into his right leg and kicked out with a howling gust. With a dull thud, Huang Qianxi was sent flying like a broken kite, his fate uncertain.

For a moment, both the people of Great Zhou and the Eastern Emperor clan stared in stunned disbelief, their faces filled with shock.

“This is what a real man should be. From now on, let me handle these matters.”